Page:Twelve men of Bengal in the nineteenth century (1910).djvu/190

166 him to one final spell of activity. His last public lecture was perhaps his finest effort. 'Asia's message to Europe' was one of love, unity and concord. It was the offer of a purely unsectarian and universal religion that should embrace all creeds and all nations in one great brotherhood of perfect harmony. Such being the message that he had tried to preach, the dissensions among his own followers were a great grief to him. He was forced to recognise that men who had thrown off the time-honoured religious restraints under which they had been born were especially prone to dissensions among themselves. The old unquestioned authority having been set aside, it was difficult to find a common meeting ground where all might join. It seemed to him that what was needed was some broad rule of life by which, however much they might differ in details, they might strive to live. With this object he drew up the Nava Samhita, the New Way of Life which enunciated an ideal course of conduct, personal, social, domestic and moral to which every man should strive to attain. These are briefly the twelve rules of life whereby the ideal man should endeavour to live—

1. To look upon woman as the daughter of God and regard her with honour and affection and to cherish no impure thought or wish in regard to her.

2. To forgive and love one's enemies and not to indulge in anger when provoked by them.